PRACTICE REPORT: Veterans in action Thurs.

Matt Deville

08/10/2006

Rain, rain, go away.
While that may be what the LSU coaching staff may want, the players aren't feeling the same sentiment.
While it is typical for the weather to be the "hot" topic (pardon the pun) during the first week of fall camp, the heat has taken a back seat to precipitation.

It has been steamy enough to make
things uncomfortable for the players, but the rain has been the big story this
week.

All three afternoon practices have
been moved indoors because of the wet stuff. And finally, the veterans' got to
work out on the new field turf inside the indoor practice facility as Thursday
morning practice session got moved inside. While there were sunny skies over the
Baton Rouge
area this morning, some three inches of rain fell Wednesday night making the
practice fields all but impossible to use.

The afternoon practice is
tentatively slated for indoors as the freshmen seem to be headed inside for the
fourth straight day.

As for the morning workout, the
media was allowed five, six-minute periods to watch the Tigers. A lot of
attention has been placed on viewing the offense, due mainly in part to the
number of injuries to skill players on that side of the ball.

We got a good look at the running
backs, most especially Alley Broussard and Justin Vincent, in full speed drills.
Vincent seems back to 100-percent and appeared a step faster than he did a year
ago. Also, the senior running back looked a bit lighter than the roster
indicates at 223 pounds.

Broussard ripped and ran, but still
looks to be a bit sluggish. He showed bursts of explosiveness, but appeared to
labor a little after 10 to 15 yards.

The rest of the time was spent
getting a close up look at the defense. The defensive line may have lost three
key, impact players, but they have plenty more from which to choose. Just from
watching drills, Glenn Dorsey's size mixed with agility is amazing for a player
that big. Some think he can take over for Williams AND Wroten and not miss a
beat. While that seems a tall task, he definitely has the poise of a guy that
can give it a run.

It will be interesting to watch the
battle at defensive end. While Chase Pittman most probably has one end locked
down, it should be an all-out war on the other side between Rickey
Jean-Francois, Tyson Jackson and Tremaine Johnson. Jean-Francois has bulked up
from a season ago and is as physically imposing as anyone on the field. A real
beast! Both Johnson and Jackson look to be in top physical condition with
Jackson
appearing a good bit bigger than he has in the past.

Moving inside to tackle, if Marlon Favorite is as gifted a defensive lineman as he is rapper, the Tigers should be
in good shape. Favorite may not be the tallest guy on the field, measuring just
a little over 6-feet-tall with his cleats on, he definitely has Booger
McFarland-like tendencies.

As we said reported yesterday in
our feature on Glenn Dorsey (check the TigerRag.com archives), LSU coach Miles
is very high on Charles Alexander – and we know why. Miles said Alexander is the
most athletically-gifted big man on the roster for LSU. Standing 6-3 and 294
pounds, Alexander gives the Tigers an even mix of size strength and agility that
will remind people of Claude Wroten from a year ago.

The Tigers exhibit so much depth on
the defensive line that a number of players should rotate in an out of the game
– D-Line by platoon. Others include Rahim Alem (the artist formerly known as Al
Jones Jr.), Lyle Hitt, Tim Washington, Ryan Willis and even true freshman Al Woods (when he arrives).

Don't let the prognosticators fool
you by saying the defensive line is a weak spot on this team. LSU is
L-O-A-D-E-D.

Taylor has flown under the radar since arriving
at LSU, but this may be his year to shine. Standing 6-3 and 204 pounds,
Taylor is as LSU
basketball coach John Brady describes as "LONG." Taylor has the size and build to be an impact
player in the secondary. WE will definitely keep an eye on Taylor as August
progresses.

Linebacker Luke Sanders was
the only player in a green "no contact" jersey today. However, it didn't look to
be all that serious as he was participating drills.